The Old House Web -- Ceramic Tile Floor Repair and Preservation

Flooring

Preserving Historic Ceramic Tile Floors

Historic Ceramic Floor Tile: Repair and Replacement

Preservation and repair treatments are always preferable to replacement.

Mortar Joint Repair. Deteriorated mortar joints and loose mortar or grout can generally be repaired. First, the entire floor should be checked for loose tiles that need to be regrouted. Damaged mortar should be carefully removed by hand and the joints wetted or a bonding agent applied in preparation for regrouting. When making mortar repairs, it is important to use grout that matches the old in color and consistency as closely as possible.

Tile Repair. Trying to remove one tile can endanger surrounding tiles. Thus, it may be better to preserve and retain an original historic tile that is only slightly damaged, rather than replace it. Sometimes cracks may be repaired, or a corner or piece of tile that has broken off may be reattached, using an epoxy glue, or grout. If a tile is chipped or a small corner or edge is missing, a carefully executed patch of epoxy-mixed with colored enamel, or mortar tinted to blend with the tile, may be less conspicuous than trying to replace every tile that has even the slightest damage. And, it is a better preservation treatment.

In limited instances, glaze failure or surface powdering of ceramic floor tiles may sometimes be treated successfully by a conservator with a specially formulated, solvent-based, mineral densifying agent (such as silicic acid), followed by a siloxane sub-surface repellent, applied 24 hours later. Under the right circumstances, such a treatment can harden and bind the surface, and lower the absorbency of the tile, and still maintain the vapor transmission. But this is a highly complex undertaking and should only be attempted by a conservator after appropriate testing. Not only are these chemicals highly toxic and dangerous to handle, but if used improperly, they can cause greater damage to the tile!

Tile Replacement. When an individual tile or a larger portion of an historic ceramic tile floor is missing or so severely damaged that it cannot be repaired, or if it has become a safety hazard, then it should be replaced.

When a ceramic tile floor has deteriorated as a result of long term wear and abrasion, or from settlement or vibration damage to the setting bed, there are a number of factors that need to be considered before choosing a preservation treatment. If damage to tiles is the result of more than normal wear and tear, the source of the problem needs to be identified, and the problem corrected before replacing the damaged tiles.

Successful replacement not only depends on the availability of matching tiles, but on the condition of the substrate on which the tiles are laid. Before installing the replacement tiles, any problems, such as settlement or vibration, will have to be addressed, and the height of the new setting bed may have to be adjusted for the thickness of the new tiles.

Selective Replacement of Individual Tiles. This cautious approach, typically an attempt to replace only the most seriously damaged tiles, is often taken or considered when only a small number of tiles are involved. Unless old, matching tiles can be found and reused, replacement often requires specially fabricated reproduction tiles. In some instances, individual historic tiles that are damaged may be replaced with matching tiles salvaged from other, less prominent areas of the floor or from other buildings. This is most feasible if the tiles to be replaced are either plain, and easy to match, or decorated with a common historic floor tile pattern.

In order to replace damaged tiles, it can be helpful to identify the manufacturer and the approximate date of the tiles, if possible. However, many mass-produced tiles are not marked and give little or no information as to their origin, although stylistic similarities with other marked tiles may sometimes provide a clue as to the manufacturer.

Some decorating firms seldom signed their work, while many firms made bisque tiles (plain, unglazed, once-fired tiles) for other companies, as well as their own use. Identifying marks will generally be found on the back of the tile. A mark impressed or molded into the back of the tile may give the name or initials of the company which made the tile or the bisque; sometimes a printed or painted mark indicates if it was decorated by a different company, or artist. Historic building records and construction documents may provide information about the tile company or supplier. Catalogues of the period may also be useful in identifying the tile manufacturer of unmarked tiles.

Replacing a single damaged tile is based on the ability to remove only the deteriorated tile without harming surrounding tiles. Attempts to remove one or several damaged tiles often fail because a hammer and chisel are used. The shock of the blows to the tile being removed travels through the grout into surrounding tiles and cracks them. To avoid damaging good tiles, all the grout around the tile must be removed. This is best accomplished by an experienced tile installer using a hand tool called a grout saw or, for grout joints wider than 3/8", a dry-cutting diamond blade, mounted in an angle grinder or circular saw.

Other difficulties may be encountered when selectively replacing damaged tiles with reproduction tiles. New tiles, especially encaustic tiles, may be different in thickness and, sometimes, despite the attention to detail of the reproduction process, slightly different in color and design from historic tiles. This can cause both visual and physical problems, especially if the replacements are being laid in a piecemeal fashion.

If the setting bed does not have enough mortar to grip and hold the tile, one new tile laid among the originals will eventually come loose. If the new and old tiles are different thicknesses, the setting bed in which the new tiles are laid must be at a different height to create a level finished surface. In addition, the two levels of setting beds may be of different composition; one may be harder, stronger and less flexible than the other. This may also lead to problems, since the setting bed foundation should act and respond as a unit to the load and stresses placed upon it.

Sectional Replacement of Tiles. In some instances, the best approach may be to remove a complete section of damaged original tiles and replace that section of floor in its entirety with new reproduction tiles. Advantages of this method include the ability to lay a level setting bed, as well as achieving a finished product that is uniform in color and pattern match.

Although this approach may involve replacing more original tiles with reproduction tiles than may be absolutely necessary, original tiles that remain in good condition can be saved to be reused in other sections where only a few tiles are damaged. This technique is generally most appropriate either when the section being replaced is the most damaged portion of the floor, or is in a relatively inconspicuous location and the tiles that are removed will supply enough salvaged pieces to permit in-kind repair of a more visually prominent area .

When laying a section of reproduction tiles, it may be a good idea to use contemporary materials and installation methods such as expansion joints or flexible expansion material. One of the major causes of ceramic floor tile installation failure and cracked, broken or disbonded tiles is the lack of expansion joints. Expansion joints were sometimes used in laying historic ceramic tile floors, and these are frequently the ones that have survived in the best condition.

Many preservation contractors hesitate to use conventional expansion joint filler materials because of their limited range of colors. However, there are new flexible sealants in a wide range of colors that are available in either sanded or unsanded textures to match the surrounding grout joints. As a result, the expansion joints are almost invisible. A bonding agent may also be considered-if recommended by the tile manufacturer-and any drawings provided by the manufacturer should be used to guide the installation.

Each preservation technique has advantages and disadvantages that the historic property owner or manger should take into consideration before deciding which one is best suited to the particular flooring problem. For example, slight differences in the shape, size, color and the pattern between the old and the new tiles are frequently encountered.

If replacing an entire section, the slightest difference in size and dimension between the original tiles and the reproduction tiles, even if it is as small as 1/8" or 1/16", can mean that the new section of tile will not fit inside an existing border. Even though drawings and photos are provided to the manufacturer, there may be some variation in the design and pattern size on the new tiles. Thus, they may not align perfectly with the original tiles, and as a result the section of the floor that has been replaced may be quite conspicuous.